I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices and methods for grabbing, lifting and tipping (unloading) refuse and/or recyclables from collection containers into charging compartments of collection vehicles. More particularly, this invention relates to a grabbing device attached to a deployable arm mounted on a side, front or rear-loading collection vehicle, which allows containers of widely varying shapes and sizes to be efficiently handled during collection efforts. The system coordinates with a packing system contained within the charging hopper of the collection vehicle which may be cycling continuously and repeatedly packing the refuse and/or recyclables.
II. Related Art
Various vehicles dedicated to the collection of refuse or recyclables have included a mechanized material handing device, allowing the operator to grab, lift and empty a container of interest without getting out of the collection vehicle. The holding or grasping device is generally connected to an arm, extensible or offset boom which is connected to a base mounted on the vehicle. The arm or boom and grasping device are operated in concert to engage the container of interest, lift and dump the container into a receiving hopper in the vehicle.
A representative example of such a device appears in U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,592, issued to Christenson and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, which describes a vehicle-mounted, opposed-finger grabber assembly for grabbing, lifting and dumping refuse containers. That vehicle-mounted grabber assembly is preferably rotatably and pivotally mounted with reference to a material receiving location of a side-loading collection vehicle. The device includes a mechanized swivel mount, an articulated arm, a convergent digital gripping mechanism or grabber with flexible gripping belts and mechanized systems for actuating each of the swivel mount, articulated arm and grabber or grabbing mechanism.
The gripping mechanism of that device includes a support member or frame, gear coordinated first and second opposed mechanized fingers mounted on pivot pins, first and second flexible belts, guide rollers, belt guides and means for simultaneously actuating said first and second fingers using the gear system. The fingers are shaped to fit around containers of a plurality of different shapes, including curved, rectangular, hexagonal and others.
Other devices are described in references that include Holtom (U.S. Pat. No. 5,391,039), which includes a grabbing assembly that uses a plurality of independent actuators to operate. Ahrens (U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,983) discloses a gripping mechanism that includes a frame with a pair of convergent arms pivotally mounted to the frame. A patent to Smith (U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,607) is directed to a gripping apparatus that uses a single hydraulic cylinder and meshing gear segments to operate a pair of converging gripper arms.